A very good friend of mine died a few days ago…. It was a hard blow for all of her friends because she was very young and seemed so healthy.
After her death, I constantly thought about her soul…. I was curious to know where her soul was, and I admit that I wanted to see her in my dreams and talk with her…. I even started thinking of spiritism and whether or not it could be real. I am sad that, because of allowing myself to think along these lines, I offended God by not accepting her death.
Dear Friend,
We are very sorry to hear of your loss. It is always difficult to lose someone that you care about, but it is even harder when they were young and seemingly healthy. It is completely normal that you have struggled to accept your friend’s untimely death. God is not offended by the normal human emotion of grief; on the contrary, He understands what you are feeling. Express yourself to Him in prayer. He wants to comfort you at this of mourning.
It is also completely normal to have curiosity about the afterlife. God has set eternity in our hearts,(1) so that instinctively we know that there is more than just this life on earth. That knowledge leads us to speculate about Heaven and about what will happen to us after we die. God actually wants us to be concerned about the afterlife. He wants us to be prepared for our own deaths on this earth, and ready to enter eternity in Heaven. He is the One who gave His only Son Jesus Christ so that we might be able to go to Heaven by accepting His Son’s death for us on the cross. When we ask Him to forgive us of our sins, we are preparing for a better life on earth, as well as for an eternity spent in Heaven.
As to your interest in spiritism, we want to warn you to be very careful. The Bible says that anyone who is a spiritist, or who consults with the dead, is detestable to the Lord.(2) For spiritism is a counterfeit practice that comes from Satan himself. Satan does not have God’s power nor can he be everywhere at once, as God is. So Satan reveals to spiritists certain details about a deceased person so that they can convince grieving loved ones that they are actually speaking with their departed friend or relative. Therefore, while spiritism does not involve actual communication with the deceased person, it does involve communication with Satan, who is the Devil himself. And it is very dangerous to open up the lines of communication with the Devil, even if through a spiritist.
Some spiritists or fortune-tellers know they have no power at all, and only deceive gullible people for money. Others have been deceived themselves, and do not realize that the power they have comes straight from Satan. And still others are very aware that their power comes from Satan, and that he will give them success and money in exchange for their eternal souls. Consulting with spiritists or fortune-tellers is a sure way to offend God.
With the passage of time, you will be able to accept the death of your friend. It will hurt less and less as the months go by. In the meantime, concentrate your efforts on preparing your own soul for what comes after death. Then this circumstance, as sad as it has been, will have served a positive purpose in your life.
We wish you peace and comfort,
Linda and Charles
____________________
1 Ecc 3:11
2 Dt 18:11-12